Month: August 2017

I’ve been to Piemonte (Piedmont) a few times and first tried Gavi di Gavi 20 years ago (in a restaurant in London). I love Gavi and the Cortese grape and I’m pleased and surprised that a supermarket like Sainsburys can offer 4 different bottles ranging from £7.50 to £15.50. Clearly I’m not the only fan…

Malbec is everywhere, and here is yet another – however this one bares the name of Zuccardi (albeit discretely); excellent producers of Argentinian wines. Their wines are produced responsibly, organically and fairly – which is important in what is essentially a developing world economy. Tasting notes: Notes of cherry, plum and spice. Excellent velvety mouth-feel. Full…

Britain retains a love for single variety wines; there is real wine-making skill in creating a blend which is more than the sum of its’ parts. This one works well… Tasting notes: an interesting, harmonious blend of Sauvignon Blanc & Semillon; dry with citrus and floral notes. Good wine, fairly priced. Region of Origin –…

Had to grab a bottle in a hurry, to go with our planned chip supper; Chablis seems a bit excessive for battered haddock – although I like the juxtaposition… An alternative to the more expensive white burgundies, which goes well with fish – even the battered type – is this good chardonnay from Co-Op. They…

A flinty alternative to Muscadet, Gruner-Veltliner or Pouilly Fume, Picpoul used to be cheap, and unusual to find outside France until a few years ago when it cropped up more frequently, particularly on gastro-pub wine lists. Prices rose as it became more popular. My most read article, with a few hundred views, is Sainsbury’s Baron…

‘Bring your own wine’; love those words, wish more places did it! We had a booking at ‘Rocky Bottoms’, a good lobster/crab place near Sherringham, which inexplicably has no alcohol licence. I often resent the mark up on a bottle of wine in pubs/restaurants, so was grateful of a chance to select a decent bottle…

My wife brought this home. I might not have spent £9 on a mid-week bottle, but I’m glad she did. This wine was really good; it was intriguing to drink and was delicious – definitely try it! Tasting notes: Fresh & refreshing, very good summer drinking. Complex, slightly creamy, lime notes, floral notes. I really…

I fully expected this Pugliese red to be a Primitivo, however according to the label it’s a Negroamoro, although one newspaper reviewer said it was a blend of the two grapes… Who to believe? Well the review was in the Daily Mail… I like Puglia – with its witches hat trulli houses, olive groves and…

This is the Sainsbury’s offering; is it better than Waitrose or Tesco? No – because it’s the identical wine as the other two from the same co-operative producer, (but with a different label) but can be bought for £5.60 at Tesco… Tasting notes: Fresh & refreshing, very good summer drinking. Green apples and lemon and…

An attractive bottle from a well respected producer, Bouchard Aine & Fils. Carrying the Tesco finest label, currently reduced to £9.60. Pinot Noir is my favourite red wine grape, so my hopes were high… This was good wine for the price but when it reverts to £12? I’m not sure… Tasting notes: Light, soft…

Merlot, like Sauvignon Blanc is not my favourite red wine grape, but after being pleasantly surprised by The Ned Sauvignon Blanc I decided to give this a go. At nearly £10 a bottle a wine needs to be good… And I liked this – again I was pleasantly surprised. I do feel however that I…

Sold by various pubs, especially All Bar One. Not fairly traded. Reasonably priced for pub drinking, but not the best Chenin Blanc. I suspect the margins on this are huge. Imported by the huge plb group, who merged with Bibendum a few years ago. Tasting notes: Reasonable summer drinking. Green apple notes. Region of…